Most of the students struggle with time management, which has its effects in their academics. Not only does a student’s life involve a lot of academic activities, a fair portion of it deals with social activities. It involves several daily obligations such as extracurricular activities, spending time with friends and family, homework and probably part time jobs. Striking a balance between all these activities is a real challenge. To achieve this, you need to find out about the smart ways of organizing your study time for maximum results. Staying organized is the only way to meet all your social and academic obligations.
Developing a Schedule
Most students don’t know how to study efficiently and effectively. Nowadays, students tend to waste their time rather than use it wisely. This result in poor grades and you are left frustrated. You cannot get the desired results this way, even if you want to do better. The only solution to this problem is organization. Organizing and maximizing the study time is crucial for every student.
To start with organization, you need to develop schedules that best suit you. You should develop your schedule all by yourself, keeping in mind your daily activities and requirements. One very common mistake that students do is using the schedule of someone else. Organization and scheduling differs from student to student, mainly because everyone leads a different lifestyle and it is not likely that a schedule suits different students equally well. Having said that, there are certain organizational tips which you can use while developing a schedule for yourself.
Organizational tips
- Waking up on time
One problem that most of the students face is the inability to wake up on time. Staying in the bed for longer than necessary obviously has its effects on organization and schedule. First and foremost, you lose the time which you could otherwise utilize in useful activities. Therefore, it is essential that you try to wake up on time. One way of doing it is to place your alarm clock in such a way that you have to get out of bed for turning it off. With more body movement, there are more chances of waking up quicker and staying awake.
- Grouping Academic responsibilities together
It is pretty essential that you segregate all your academic responsibilities from other activities. You have to give priority to your academics, to do which you need to recognize your academic responsibilities first. One way of doing it is to put all the dates of your exams, project due date, class schedule and assignments together. This way you can see all your must-do activities in one place and it can prove to be a very effective method of study management.
- Color Coding your Calendar
Making use of color codes on calendars is yet another effective way of managing and organizing your time for maximum results. You can use colors to mark your responsibilities. This way you can also prioritize all your activities. For instance, you can mark paper dues and finals in red and assignment dates in blue, while you can use other colors representing other activities such as probable jobs and appointments. It is a great way of determining all your obligations quicker and having a clear idea of what lies ahead.
- Determining the Best Time for yourself
Different students have different time when they are at the peak of their activeness. Some of them are morning people while others are night people. All activities done during this time is usually more fruitful. Therefore, it is wise to perform the critical works when you are active and lazy or sluggish. It is recommended to schedule your study during such time so that you can get maximum results.
- Following an established routine
To manage your time effectively, you need to establish and strictly follow a routine for regular activities such as studying, free time, playing, work out, etc. This will allow you to function properly, both mentally and physically. Before you follow any routine, it is extremely crucial that you develop a routine which is well balanced. You have to assign plenty of time to all the necessary activities, including studying.
- Setting Daily Goals
Writing a to-do list on a daily basis can prove to be fruitful if you want to organize your daily time. You need to set a realistic goal for yourself every day and you must work hard in order to achieve these goals. If you know what lies ahead, you can plan and work hard accordingly. You will end up having a proper sense of the amount of time you should spend on all your activities. It is also be helpful in achieving the bigger academic goals you wish to achieve.
- Packing properly for classes
When it comes to organization, being properly equipped with all the necessary stuffs is important. You would not want to attend a class without having the essential items. So, you should stock your backpack with whatever you find important-pens, pencils, notebook or highlighters. This ensures that you have everything you need while attending a class. In case you have a class early in the morning, you should organize everything the evening before.
- Taking Notes
Proper note taking is essential for your classes. You must note down every important thing that your teacher teaches. You need to write your notes in a way that you can be familiar with it even in future. This way, you remember what was taught to you even if you open your notebook after a couple of months. One great tip regarding taking notes to doing a read through immediately after the class. When everything is fresh in your mind, you can notice anything you might have missed and make corrections accordingly.
- Maintaining a clean workspace
You should make sure that your study area is neat and free of clutters. An organized workspace saves you a lot of time. It is easier and quicker to find what you need in a clean workspace. You can keep the important books and notes in the most accessible areas. Things you seldom use can be kept away. A clean and organized place of studying allows you to concentrate better on your studies.
- Organizing all the study materials
Keeping study materials in order is essential for study management. You need to keep your books and class notes accordingly. It would be really helpful if you keep all your primary study material in one place, so that they are easier to find when you need them. Even if you have notes in your computer, you should keep them in one folder and name the folders accordingly. One way of doing so is segregating study items by individual subjects or chapters.
- Stay Away from distractions while studying
You have to be focused when you are studying. For this, you need to stay away from anything that distracts you. You can switch off your mobile phones and don’t log in to social media if you are studying from your computer. You need to prioritize study over calls, texts, television and social media. If you are continuously being distracted by something, you will never be able to concentrate completely. When you pay complete attention to your studies, you can accomplish a lot with a short period of time.
- Forming Study Group
Studying together with fellow students and friends is an excellent learning strategy that you must try. You learn quickly and boost your knowledge when you discuss theories with your classmates. You can even try quizzing each other regarding the subject matter. It will improve the knowledge of every student in the group. However, you must try to limit the number of people in the group to maximum 5 students. Otherwise, the group study might turn into a social gathering.
- Make use of the reminder feature of your phone
Almost every phone has the reminder feature. You can utilize this particular feature to effectively organize and manage your study time. Set a reminder of the upcoming important events. This way, you make sure that you don’t forget to study of a particular exam or work on a project.
- Make sure to give yourself some free time
It is impossible to achieve proper results if you forcefully keep yourself busy all the time. You need to make sure that you have enough free time during which you can relax. It is also a great way of managing stress of studies. You can perform some light activities during the free time, like going for a walk.
- Sleeping properly
Getting plenty of sleep is a simple yet the best way of getting the most out of daily activities. When your body is rested properly, you are more alert and ready to face the challenge that daily lives of a student possesses. You are also more involved in all sorts of academic activities.